


summer skies

by cubedmango



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e13 Mount Rushmore or Less, yep. more s3e13 angst, you already know what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-23 20:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18156668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cubedmango/pseuds/cubedmango
Summary: When Buffy spots Cyrus sitting outside the school building, in his stupidly straight-forward salt-themed outfit—his head stooped and his eyes slightly glossy—all on his own, she can immediately tell that something's wrong.She just can’t tell what.





	summer skies

**Author's Note:**

> wooo i'm hopping on this bandwagon before the hiatus ends and canon breaks into my house and kicks my ass
> 
> i'm new to this fandom, and i haven't watched every episode yet (there's just... so much jandi drama... i can't) so if there's any mistakes in the timeline/info it's probably because of that
> 
> anyways hope you enjoy have fuuuun

 

When Buffy spots Cyrus sitting outside the school building, in his stupidly straight-forward salt-themed outfit—his head stooped and his eyes slightly glossy—all on his own, she can immediately tell that something's wrong.

 

She just can’t tell what.

 

“Cyrus?” she calls out, at which he immediately looks up at the group, and gets up from his isolated spot.

 

Andi looks away from Jonah, and at his costume, confused. “Cyrus?”

 

“Jonah can't do the costume.” Buffy tells him, like maybe he'd change his mind and join the three of them, again, since he doesn't exactly look too happy doing his own. His eyes follow Jonah’s retreating body.

 

“Oh, I get it!” Marty exclaims, proudly, “Salt!”

 

“Nope.” replies Cyrus, sounding just as crestfallen as he looks. “Thomas Jefferson.”

 

 

In the end, their group costume is a success, if you were to ask Buffy or Marty. Andi and Cyrus look like they're close to crying in the photographs, for their own respective reasons, but for now she just ignores that and tries to focus on the good— which isn't a lot.

 

The four get out of costume immediately, deciding they can't spend the entire day walking in-sync—they all have different places to be. Marty suggests keeping the face paint on, as a half-joke, half-actual-suggestion, but the grumpy two don't find it funny, so they all wash it off and go on with their days.

 

Andi spends the entire day snappy and just uncharacteristically angry. She slams her locker door, slams her books, and slams her tray of food. Buffy tries to ask her about it at lunch, but she just says “Got my hopes up too high, that's all.”, and leaves it at that.

 

Neither of them miss the way Cyrus says, “Yeah, me too.”

 

“What do you mean?” Buffy asks immediately. She'd been meaning to ask him about the whole _sitting alone in costume_ deal all day, but he’s been slipping away to class or avoiding conversation.

 

Something must have happened, she presumes.

 

“Nothing!” he squeaks, like he hadn't actually meant to say that last sentence at all. “I meant nothing.”

 

“No, you definitely meant something.” Andi adds, somehow open to listening to him, despite her own problems. “C'mon, tell us.”

 

He looks conflicted.

 

“Weren't you doing your costume with T.J.?” Buffy points out, at which Andi gives him an odd look, like she hadn’t been expecting him to bail the group costume for _T.J._ , of all people. “Did he do something? Where was he, anyway?”

 

He looks down at his lap, letting go of the spoon he was holding and closing his eyes.

 

T.J. did something.

 

“God, I'm going to kill him—” she starts and gets up, ready to walk up to that basketball jerk and give him a piece of her mind. She doesn’t _care_ what he did—he made Cyrus this upset, and he was going to pay for it.

 

“No, no, no, Buffy! Please don't!” Cyrus pleads, at which she reluctantly sits back down. He lips quiver, like he's hesitating to talk at all, but he continues, “He didn't do anything wrong.”

 

“But he did something,” Andi says, “which you probably _think_ isn't wrong, because he's your friend.”

 

“Exactly.” Buffy interjects. Cyrus does that a lot—forgiving the other boy too easily. Granted, T.J. _was_ making an effort to be kinder lately, but still, Cyrus pardons his mistakes _way_ too fast. It’s in his nature, she guesses, but she's always been worried he's going to get hurt because of it.

 

Maybe he already did.

 

“It's not— he didn't…” he stutters. The two girls give him sympathetic looks, waiting for him to continue. “He… He did a costume with Kira, not me.”

 

That enrages Buffy to no ends. “Kira? He did a costume with _Kira_ instead of you?”

 

“Excuse my language, but what the heck?” Andi says, bewildered. Buffy totally gets why she was slamming things earlier, now. “But, why, if he was doing it with you already?”

 

“Dunno,” he shrugs, and Buffy can't believe he's trying to pass this off so casually with that heartbroken look on his face. “I guess he liked her idea more. Like I said, nothing wrong with that.”

 

“Nothing wrong? Cyrus, that's _everything_ wrong!” Buffy says, “Didn't _he_ ask you to do a costume with him, anyway? What's up with that?”

 

“Yeah, he did. I liked his idea.” he mumbles, “Just wish he'd told me that he didn't want to do it anymore before I showed up at school. It was kinda embarrassing.”

 

“He didn't tell you.” Buffy says blankly, feeling rage boil her blood. “He didn't tell you he's backing out. He did the costume with Kira and didn’t say a word about it.”

 

Oh, T.J. is so, _so_ dead.

 

“Buffy, don't. Just—” he sighs. She honestly doesn't understand how he's staying so calm about this. If Buffy were him, she would've ripped T.J. and Kira both to pieces already. Cyrus goes back to poking at his food. “Can we leave this here? He had his reasons, and I don't really wanna talk about it anymore.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it with _him_?” Andi asks, her voice full of concern.

 

“I don't know. Maybe?” he replies, after a few seconds, and then sighs again. “No. Not right now.”

 

“Want us to play bodyguard again?” Andi says.

 

Cyrus nods frantically.

 

“Okay, okay. No more discussion about disloyal jocks.” Buffy takes a deep breath, though the urge to flip the table right into that enemy-fraternizing, friend-betraying idiot's face is extremely strong. “If you do wanna talk later, I'll be here, okay?”

 

“Me, too.” says Andi, squeezing Cyrus’ shoulder. Buffy mentally reminds herself to talk to Andi later, too.

 

The boy gives them both a small, genuine smile. “Thanks, guys.”

 

They spend the rest of their time at the cafeteria discussing anything but costume day. Marty joins them a few minutes in, and manages to get their moods up a little with his antics. Jonah walks by a little later, but Andi gives him a menacing look, and he scurries away in fear.

 

Cyrus goes to retrieve his favorite muffin, as he usually does, but swiftly does a u-turn halfway through, and comes back empty-handed. None of them question it. Buffy buys him a can of soda instead.

 

T.J. doesn't show up, like he had been the past few weeks.

 

Looks like Buffy's just going to have to look for him, instead.

 

She does want answers, after all.

 

 

“Here to murder me in cold blood, I assume?” T.J. says—catching the ball through the hoop—when he hears Buffy approaching the empty court. She just about ready to reply with _yeah, how’d you know, you lying jerk?_ , but the words get stuck in her throat when he turns around to face her.

 

He looks _awful_ , like, almost as awful as Cyrus that morning. It reminds her of the time she’d confronted him about her getting kicked out of the team, when he’d actually managed to look genuinely guilty for a whole five seconds.

 

What in the _world_?

 

“I was _going_ to, but now I think I might not.” she responds, taking in his appearance. He’s wearing a green jacket with what she assumes is a plain white tee underneath. Is _this_ Kira’s costume idea? Just what even is it? “Are you okay? What happened?”

 

“You sure you’re asking the right person?” he says sourly, letting of the basketball he’s holding and watching it roll away instead of looking at Buffy. “Cyrus probably told you, right?”

 

“Yeah, after I threatened him that I’d kill _you_.” she replies, at which T.J. involuntarily gives her a ghost of a smile. Buffy doesn’t get why he bailed, if he obviously feels so bad about it. “Why did you ditch him, T.J.?”

 

“I’m sorry.” he says, voice low, head bowing down, and look at that—T.J. Kippen _apologizing_ , just to the wrong person. “I meant to tell him sooner, I just—”

 

“Pretty sure you should be saying that to someone else, buddy.” she interrupts. She’s not the one he’s supposed to be saying sorry to, that’s Cyrus. She’s just here for an explanation, because she knows she wouldn’t get answers otherwise. “Did Kira force you into it, or something?”

 

“Kind of?” T.J. says, uncertain, “I mean, I told her I already had a partner for the costume— twice! She just… She said something that scared me.”

 

“What? What did she say?”

 

He wrings his hands. “She made it sound weird that I wanted to do a costume with Cyrus instead of her.”

 

That baffles Buffy greatly. T.J. does things with Cyrus _all the time_ —they hang out after school, go to each other’s places, and even have inside jokes that nobody else knows about. Why would he feel conscious about that now?

 

Unless…

 

“And that’s a problem, why?” she says, albeit a little defensively. “Because he’s a guy, and you two doing a costume would look _gay_?”

 

That strikes a nerve in the boy, it seems, because he immediately unclasps his hands, and fists them instead. He looks up at Buffy and grits his teeth. “No. It’s because _I’m_ gay, and I _like_ Cyrus, and I don’t want Kira announcing that to the entire school!”

 

Oh.

 

_Oh._

 

The realization hits Buffy like a bag of bricks, while T.J. looks shocked, like he'd blurted out something he hadn’t exactly been planning to tell her.

 

He takes a few unsteady steps back, but Buffy grabs his wrist before he can leave.

 

“T.J., just— wait.” she pleads, trying to get her thoughts in order. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

 

“Whatever.” he yanks his arm away, walking to sit on the bleachers, instead. “Don’t tell anyone, please.”

 

“I won’t. I swear, I won’t.” she says, taking a seat besides him. “How did Kira find out?”

 

“I don’t know.” T.J. sighs, “She came over to me yesterday and said she wanted to join the team. Then Cyrus walked over and we just started talking.” He looks up from the creaky woodboards. “Am I that obvious?”

 

“ _Definitely_ not. I see you two hanging out _all_ the time, and I had absolutely no clue— and I’m his best friend!” Buffy says. It’s true, since she had gathered that maybe Cyrus likes T.J., but had no idea if T.J. felt the same. “I get it. Kira only targeted you because she knew Cyrus would feel bad, and what’s a better way of getting back at me for kicking her out than hurting someone _I_ care about?”

 

“Yeah, I guess.” he mumbles.

 

The two fall into a kind-of-uncomfortable silence. Buffy honestly has no clue about what she should say. She's done this before, sure, but that was with _Cyrus_. She doesn't really know T.J. all that well, so she has no idea what she should be saying, when this whole thing is so unexpected.

 

“I hate feeling like this.” he says, just as Buffy's about give him some form of encouragement. She just looks at him, and waits for him to continue. “Like there's something _wrong_ with me.”

 

“T.J., there's _nothing_ wrong with you.” Buffy tells him, “It's a part of who you are, and no one should make you feel bad about it.”

 

“I know,” T.J. sighs, “I just forget there's still people against all this, like Kira.”

 

“And they're all literal human garbage, like Kira.” she quips. That makes him laugh a little, so she marks it as a success. “Ugh, I wish I could kick her out of the _school_. She really doesn't deserve to be here, after all she's done.”

 

“Yeah, but it's not like we can complain about her to a teacher without telling them everything.” T.J. says, “It'd be _me_ getting in trouble, instead.”

 

Buffy groans, “This sucks.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

They sit in silence for a few more seconds.

 

“This is probably the weirdest thing I'm ever going to say, but, like, if you wanna cry on my shoulder for a good minute or something, I'd totally let you do that.” she offers, “Cyrus would be proud of you, for expressing your emotions and all that jazz.”

 

“Yeah, he would, but no, thanks.” chuckles T.J., half-heartedly. “Bet he hates me right now.”

 

“I wouldn't say _hate_. He's just feeling really confused, and really betrayed.” Buffy explains, “You should talk to him.”

 

“You think he wants to?” T.J. says, pulling out his phone to show her his several unread texts to Cyrus. “I'm pretty sure he's avoiding me.”

 

“I don't know.” she replies truthfully, thinking back to the conversation with Cyrus and Andi at lunch. He _did_ say he wanted them to steer him away from T.J. for an unspecified amount of time, but Buffy knows him. There's absolutely no way Cyrus would ignore T.J. for too long, considering his empathetic ways, and also the fact that he _adores_ T.J. “Give him some time. He'll come around.”

 

T.J. looks uncertain. “You sure?”

 

“Absolutely positive.”

 

“Okay.” he says, and suddenly pulls Buffy into a kind-of hug. “Thanks, Buffy.”

 

She smiles. “Hey, it's not a problem. I'll talk to Cyrus, okay?” She pulls back to put an assuring hand on his shoulder. “And if you ever wanna talk about anything, you know where to find me.”

 

T.J. smiles back. “Okay. See you around?”

 

“Yep.” she replies.

 

T.J. walks away with his basketball, at least a _bit_ happier than when she'd found him.

 

Now to find out what happened to Andi.

 

☀          ☀          ☀

 

“Your parents really aren't getting married?” Buffy asks, as Amber brings around their usual order of baby taters and milkshakes. “You must be _heartbroken_.”

 

“I _am_. They were so excited about it.” Andi huffs, “ _I_ was so excited about it.”

 

Amber slides in the booth, next to Andi, as Cyrus asks. “Why'd they call it off?”

 

“I don't know! Something about _everything changing_ after getting married and _just wanting to be happy_. Ugh.” she says, “I mean, I get it. It's their decision, but what am I supposed to do with this ball of _rage_ I'm holding? I don't have anywhere to put it.”

 

Amber raises her hand. “I do.”

 

“What do you mean?” asks Cyrus, curiously. Andi wonders if he has a ball of rage, too, after the whole costume day mess.

 

“Well, you're angry, right? Maybe you feel like yelling, or breaking something.” she explains. Andi nods—she _does_ kind of feel like doing those things, but not at home, for obvious reasons. “Luckily for you, I know a pretty sweet rage room nearby. I can text you the details, if you want.”

 

“Oh, yes, absolutely.” replies Andi, “Amber, you're a hero.”

 

She just smiles in return.

 

“You know, my parents would say that's a pretty unhealthy way of letting out anger.” adds Cyrus, “But it sounds _so_ fun! Can I come, too?”

 

“Yeah, sure.” says Amber, “Buffy, you want in?”

 

“Uh, no, thanks. I'd rather not.”

 

“That's okay.” she gets up, hearing a bell ring from the other end of the room. “I'll send you the location later today, okay?”

 

“Yep!” says Andi, excitedly, and then turns to Cyrus. “I can't believe this is happening!”

 

“I know, right?” he replies, just as excited. “Do you think they'll have ceramic plates? I've always wanted to break those.”

 

“Oh, oh! And maybe some walls, too! Just imagine it!” she swings her arms around, holding an imaginary sledgehammer. “ _Bam! Bam!_ And nobody has to know!”

 

“Guys, you might wanna calm down.” butts in Buffy, somehow the rational one during all this. Andi doesn't get why she doesn't want to tag along. She supposes there’s not really much Buffy has to be in a temper about, but still, it’d be nice for all three of them to go together. “I'd agree with Cyrus’ parents. I don't think you should go.”

 

“What? Why not?” inquires Cyrus.

 

“Asks the _literal_ pioneer of communication.” Buffy rolls her eyes. “You can talk it out instead of breaking things, you know. Andi, just talk to Bex, and Cyrus, just talk to T.J.”

 

“Talk to Bex? She’s not gonna change her mind, I know it.” says Andi, incredulous, “And talk to _T.J._? Buffy, we're supposed to be managing him!”

 

“Yeah! And what makes you think I'm mad at _him_ , anyway?”

 

Buffy gives him an unimpressed look.

 

“Okay, I _am_ kinda mad at him, but that's not relevant— I just don't want to talk to him right now.” Cyrus replies.

 

“Maybe you should, Cyrus.”

 

Andi gives her a look, because she can’t really believe that these words are coming out of _her_ mouth. “Buffy, you're siding with _T.J._? Seriously? You do remember what did he, right?”

 

“Yes, I do. And I _know_ he feels bad about it.” she looks at Cyrus. “He's been messaging you, right?”

 

Cyrus’ phone had been buzzing the entirety of Friday, Andi recalls. He hadn’t gotten any texts in the half hour they just spent at The Spoon, so either T.J. had given up after two days, or Cyrus had blocked him, instead. He looks down, guiltily. “Yeah.”

 

“And he wants to meet up and apologize, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“And you're not talking to him, because?”

 

“I'm scared, okay?” Cyrus grumbles, “I mean, I know I'm not that important to him now, but I don't want to _hear_ him tell me that.”

 

“Cyrus,” Buffy sighs, while Andi suddenly feels worried. She knows his self-deprecation gets bad sometimes, but this is just _insane_ . “What _ever_ gave you that idea?”

 

“Why else would he do the costume with Kira? She’s athletic, she knows funny basketball jokes. He likes her, obviously, more than he likes me.”

 

“First off, the _double dribble_ costume wasn't even remotely creative or funny, and you very well know that.” says Buffy, resting a gentle hand on his. “And Cyrus, T.J. _knows_ she’s a jerk. I told him I kicked her out for her attitude, and he told me I did good. There's no way he likes her, especially more than you.”

 

Cyrus looks up, unsure.

 

“Talk to him.”

 

“Or, you know, _don't_.” adds Andi, who's kind of sick of Buffy playing supportive mom right now. It's probably just her being annoyed at everything right now, but the rage room sounds fun, and she wants to go with Cyrus. She doesn't need anyone ruining that.

 

“Andi!”

 

“What?” she pouts, “I'm just saying. There's a bunch of places T.J. could find him without either of us around, but he hasn't approached, has he?”

 

Cyrus shakes his head.

 

“See? It's probably not even that big of a deal to that jerk. If he really _did_ want to apologize, I think he would've done it already.”

 

“That's not true.” retorts Buffy.

 

“Yeah? How do you know?”

 

“Because I _talked_ to him, Andi. He told me.”

 

“You talked to T.J.?” Cyrus asks, “When?”

 

“Friday, after school. I wanted to ask why he ditched you, and he told me. He's really sorry, Cyrus. He feels horrible. Just talk to him, he'll explain.”

 

“I don't know, Buffy.” he looks down, again. “What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore?”

 

“If he says that, I _will_ kill him myself.” Buffy says, “But he won't, I promise.”

 

Cyrus looks over at Andi, who just shrugs. “Whatever, Cyrus. I'm just saying, you won't really enjoy the rage room if you're not angry.”

 

He sighs. “I'll think about it.”

 

“Better than not doing it at all, I guess. Oh, and I'm not playing bodyguard anymore. Andi's got that covered.” Buffy says, “Anyways, I gotta go. Cyrus, get out.”

 

Cyrus stands out the booth to let Buffy out. Andi looks lost. “Where?”

 

“Someplace. Marty said he wanted to hang out, so.”

 

“Oh.” she says, somewhat resigned. “Okay, have fun.”

 

“I will, Miss Will-Never-Communicate.” Buffy looks at Cyrus. “Hear him out. It won't go as bad as you're thinking.”

 

And then she's gone.

 

 

“What's her deal?” wonders Andi, “Usually she's jumping at the chance to be at T.J.'s throat.”

 

Cyrus hums.

 

“Do you think they talked about something really important?”

 

“Probably.” he says, stuffing a tater in his mouth. “Not like he's gonna tell me what, anyway.”

 

“Cyrus…” Andi starts worriedly, thinking about what he said earlier. “Do you really think he's gonna stop being friends with you?”

 

“I don't know.” he takes a sip of his milkshake. “Maybe? Probably?”

 

Look, Andi doesn't know T.J. at all, and she's not exactly at the greatest terms with him yet, but the one thing she _does_ know about him is that Cyrus is really important to him—like, _really_ important. She honestly doesn't think there's anything that could get him to stop being friends with Cyrus.

 

“I don't think that's gonna happen.” she says, trying to be a little optimistic. “And I _know_ I'm being a huge downer right now, with the whole wedding thing, but if you really do wanna go talk to him, I won't stop you.”

 

“I don't have to.” Cyrus says, “He told me he was sorry, already. I'm probably just overreacting.”

 

“Are you? Because Jonah ditched our costume, and I don't think I'm wrong to be angry at him.”

 

“That’s…” he pauses, “A really good point. But it's different for us.”

 

“How?”

 

“I mean, you didn't really expect Jonah to leave, did you?” he explains, “While I just always kinda knew T.J. didn't _actually_ want to do costumes with me.”

 

Andi can't disagree with that. If she'd been there while T.J. asked him, maybe she could've seen if he was serious about it or not. She did think he looked genuine when he apologized to time-capsule Buffy, or when he was sitting alone at lunch after the whole gun situation, but this time, she has absolutely no idea.

 

She's supposed to be positive right now, so she tries. “I don't think that's true. Why would he have asked you, then?”

 

Cyrus stares into his milkshake. “Maybe I was his last option?”

 

“That's the most _ridiculous_ thing you've ever said.” Andi responds, and Cyrus doesn't look up. “He asked you first thing in the morning, didn't he?”

 

“Yeah, but he could've asked someone else before that.”

 

It could be true, but she doesn't want to say it out loud, now, looking at his glum expression. Maybe Cyrus is right, and T.J. hadn't actually intended to pair up with him as his first choice, but something doesn't add up.

 

“Of all people,” she says, leaning back in her seat. “why Kira?”

 

He shrugs. “Maybe he likes Kira.”

 

She nearly spits out her drink. “Okay, now _that's_ the most ridiculous thing you've ever said. Just, _what_?”

 

“He'd rather do a costume with his crush than his friend, it makes sense.” he explains, “I mean, that's what I…”

 

He stops.

 

“That's what you, what?” asks Andi, puzzled.

 

“That's what—” he gulps, “That's what _I_ did.”

 

“You ditched our costume because…” Andi starts, taking a moment to process what he just said. “Oh, my God, Cyrus!”

 

Cyrus likes _T.J._

 

Andi can't believe it.

 

“I have _so_ many questions.” she says, trying to keep her voice as low as possible, despite her sudden realization. “But seriously, how long?”

 

“Um, a little while.” he replies, sheepish, “I don't really know, actually. It just kinda happened.”

 

“That's simultaneously the most and least romantic thing I've ever heard.” Andi remarks, “Wait, then _how_ are you not more upset about the whole him ditching you thing? I'd be crying for _days_.”

 

“Eh, I’m used to it.” he says, “This is what happens when I like straight boys. Y'know, like with Jonah.”

 

“Oh, right.” she mutters. It's been so long since he confessed that—it’s _obvious_ he moved on while Andi was busy dating-but-not-dating Jonah. “That sucks.”

 

He just smiles, kind of sadly.

 

“Do you want me to talk to T.J.?” she asks, sincerely, “I can try threatening him like Buffy, if you want.”

 

“Nah,” he says, “I’ll talk to him, just not right now.”

 

“Okay. I'm still up for bodyguard, then, for as long as you want.” Andi smiles. “Sounds good?”

 

“Sounds great.” he smiles back. “Thanks, Andi.”

 

“You know, I really just wanna wrap you up in a blanket right now. Maybe give you some ice cream, and dinosaur documentaries. Is this how moms feel?” she comments, which makes Cyrus giggle. “Speaking of, you should come to my place today! I found this _really_ cool thing in Bex's—”

 

The door to The Spoon opens.

 

It's T.J.

 

“Oh, no.”

 

She immediately gets up, grabs Cyrus’ hand, and drags him out of his booth. He looks at her with confusion, and says something incoherently with taters still in his mouth. She's making a beeline for the back entrance—that Amber now lets them use for covert getaways—when he finally looks back at who they're running from.

 

From the corner of her eyes, Andi can see Cyrus look at T.J. with an unreadable expression.

 

 

“Sorry about that.” she coughs out as she sits on the bench, once they've run far enough, and she needs a second to catch her breath. “I panicked.”

 

“That was good panic.” he says, flopping on the bench beside her. “I don't think I could've faced him there.”

 

“Buffy was right. He looks so _sad_.”

 

“Sadder than me?”

 

Andi looks over at Cyrus, contemplating. “Almost as sad as you.”

 

He looks down at his shoes. “Oh.”

 

The two sit in the stillness for a few minutes, with Cyrus closing his eyes and getting his breathing back to normal, and Andi scoping out the area to see if T.J. had followed them. Granted, trying to outrun an athlete wasn't exactly her brightest idea, but it seemed that they'd lost him along the way, at some point—if he'd followed at all.

 

“So, that cool thing you were telling me about.” Cyrus starts, “That cliffhanger left me _extremely_ curious.”

 

Andi laughs, getting up and pulling Cyrus along. “Turns out, parents leave a _lot_ of stuff lying around when they're busy worrying about marriage and kids.”

 

They head to Andi's apartment, discussing sci-fi movies and how to break brick walls, instead of scrapped weddings and unrequited crushes.

 

☀          ☀          ☀

 

It's been a week.

 

It's been seven days of avoiding T.J., five days of concerned looks from Buffy, and three days of not being able to decide what he wants to do.

 

Cyrus is kind of tired.

 

He's had a lot of time to think about everything—too much time, actually—and now that the anger that was keeping him from meeting the other boy had simmered down to mostly plain apprehension, he’s at a crossroads, not knowing what to do.

 

Andi was helping him out, still, steering him out of hallways or streets whenever she saw T.J., but even she'd started to encourage Cyrus to talk to him. He _wanted_ to, several times, but seeing T.J. hanging out with Kira just crushed his belief that it would go down well—if it ever went down at all.

 

He does decide on one thing, though, which is that he needs some space on his own—without friends or family—to come to an actual choice. The park is the last place he wants to be, to be honest, but it has the swingset and the silence that helps him deal with his stuff, and even if it reminds him of old memories that just make him feel worse, he still goes there.

 

What he doesn't expect, however, is T.J. to be already there, sitting on the swing, motionless.

 

Cyrus wants to get out of there as soon as he spots him—to sneak away quietly and pretend he'd never been there in the first place. He plans what he could do after this: he could keep avoiding him, for another week, or a month, maybe even for the rest of the year, and he could eventually forget that any of this ever happened and go on with his life.

 

It would be really easy, doing that.

 

He steps forward, instead.

 

It's time to face the music, he decides.

 

 

“Hi, T.J.” he says, grabbing the chains of the left swing.

 

The other boy turns around, dumbfounded. “Cyrus?”

 

“Yep, the one and only.” he sits down, but doesn't swing. “Sorry for ghosting you.”

 

“No, it's— it's fine. You don't have to apologize.”

 

Cyrus doesn't reply, just flashes him a small smile, and looks at the dirt under his feet, waiting.

 

“I’m really sorry about costume day.” T.J. says, and he keeps his gaze down. “I should’ve told you earlier. I was going to call, but—”

 

“It’s okay, you just forgot. Happens to the best of us.” Cyrus cuts him off, putting the script-but-not-really he'd prepared in his brain for this exact scenario to use. He definitely doesn’t want to hear his reasons, as much as he wanted to know, and so he's just going to avoid that conversation altogether. He kicks the ground, swaying slowly as he racks his brain for a change of subject. “So, Kira, huh?”

 

He misses the way T.J. frowns at him. “Kira? She's the _worst_.”

 

“Oh.” he says. Well, there goes that one theory, Cyrus supposes. It is a little relieving, hearing him say that, but he's not going to get his hopes up. “She seems to stick around you a lot, though.”

 

“Yeah, but _only_ because she wants to be on the team.” he sighs, “Can't take no for an answer, apparently.”

 

“Right.” Cyrus mutters, kicking a little harder now. “Why did you do the costume with her, then?”

 

Oh, wait.

 

He wasn't supposed to ask that.

 

He doesn't take it back, though, telling himself he'll accept whatever the answer is, and instead shifts his gaze towards T.J. for a few seconds.

 

He looks extremely conflicted, clutching at the chains of his swing. Cyrus knows it should be none of his business, whatever the reason is, but he feels like he's earned an explanation, regardless of it being true or not. He'll take _anything_ , at this point.

 

T.J. doesn't say anything. Cyrus’ feet skid harshly against the ground as he puts the swinging to a halt. He gets up, grabs his bag, and says, “Well, thanks for apologizing, at least.”

 

That went okay, he supposes, other than the fact that he doesn't feel better about any of it.

 

“Cyrus, wait!” T.J. calls out, as he walks away. He doesn't stop, and he doesn't expect the other boy to follow him, so he pulls out his phone and opens his texts, planning on asking Andi if she's still willing to wrap him up in blankets and feed him ice cream, or if he can tag along with Buffy on that marathon that he absolutely cannot run.

 

He's so caught up in choosing who to message, that he doesn't notice T.J. run after him, catching up and blocking his way.

 

“ _What,_ T.J.?” he says, unable to stop his frustration from seeping into his voice. He really doesn't want to deal with this anymore.

 

“Just hear me out.”

 

“I don't need to, I get it.” he takes a step back, clutching his phone tightly. “You didn't want to do it with a dork like me, or you thought Kira's stupid joke was a better option, or the whole thing was just a prank. It's one of those things, I know.”

 

“It's _none_ of those things.” T.J. replies, “I bailed because I _like_ you, Cyrus— more than as a friend.”

 

Wait.

 

_What?_

 

“What,” he manages to get out, as he stares at T.J. in disbelief. Whatever Cyrus was expecting him to say, it was _absolutely_ not this. He still doesn't really get it, though, so keeps his mouth shut, and hopes T.J. elaborates.

 

“Kira found that out, last week, when we talking at the park. She came to me after school, to talk about her costume, and she said this— this _thing_ , like she'd start telling people if I didn't go with her plan.” he sighs, “That's not how I wanted everyone to find out. That's not how I wanted _you_ to find out.”

 

Cyrus is speechless, still, not having processed much besides the fact that Kira is _extremely_ evil, and that T.J. actually likes him _back_. He's never thought this would ever happen, so he has no idea how he should react. T.J. seems to take the silence negatively, though, because he starts walking away slowly. “I'm sorry, I really am. I should’ve said something earlier—”

 

“T.J., stop talking and come here.” Cyrus says, watching him reluctantly walk back. Whatever he's expecting Cyrus to do doesn't include a hug, apparently, because T.J. immediately freezes as he wraps his arms around him. “ _I’m_ sorry. You shouldn't have had to come out like that, or go through that.”

 

He slumps against Cyrus. “I was so scared.”

 

“I know.” he says, and he really means it. The mere thought of someone spilling his truth to so many people against his will _terrifies_ Cyrus. He pulls back suddenly, looking at T.J. with concern. “Kira didn't tell anyone, did she?”

 

“No, thankfully.” he mutters, “I don't know what to do about her.”

 

“You'll figure something out. I'll help you.”

 

“Okay.” T.J. gives him a genuine smile. “So, I’m forgiven?”

 

“Oh, definitely.” Cyrus grins back, the realization of his words still hitting him. “I was honestly expecting you to tell me you're secretly in love with Kira, or something, so…”

 

That makes him laugh loudly, and _God_ , has Cyrus missed this. “If I ever say that, you're legally obligated to push me into a ditch and leave me there.”

 

“I’d really want to do that, but I can't, since it's _me_ you're secretly in love with.”

 

“Hey, I never said _in love_.” T.J. mumbles, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking away. Cyrus watches him turn red, and wonders how he never managed to see this before. Well, he supposes it’s more obvious now that he’s aware of T.J.’s feelings, but he does realize he’s been very blind this entire time. “You're absolutely free to ignore that whole thing, by the way.”

 

He strokes his chin, pretending to think. “But what if I don't want to?”

 

T.J. turns to Cyrus, baffled. “Wouldn’t that be really awkward for both of us?”

 

“ _Would_ it be, if I happen to like you back?”

 

T.J. just blinks. “You, _what_?”

 

“Yep. Newsflash: I'm gay, too, and I like you a _lot_ , T.J.” he confesses, and it doesn't feel as scary as the three other times he's done this—definitely because he _knows_ T.J. would be accepting, for sure. “I was going to tell you after costume day, but that plan kinda crashed, so I guess I'm telling you right now.”

 

“That's—” he starts, and pull Cyrus into another hug. “That's the _best_ thing you could've told me. I'm so glad.”

 

“Me, too.” Cyrus smiles. “Imagine how _I_ was feeling, when you just dropped that on me, and then went on about that basketball demon like you hadn’t said it at all.”

 

“Must've sucked. Let's never talk about said demon again.”

 

“Gladly.”

 

They start walking out of the park, wordlessly. Cyrus takes this time to think back to all the events that just occurred. It's still kind of hard for him to believe that any of it just happened, because he was _sure_ T.J. could only like him back in some alternate dimension or in his romcom-fueled imagination.

 

Apparently, not everything is impossible, he finds.

 

T.J. slings his arm around Cyrus, as he usually does, and there’s nothing different about it, but it _feels_ completely different. “So, what do you want to do now?”

 

Cyrus feels his heart swell in his chest. “Well, for starters, we could go grab some taters, because I'm _really_ hungry. I could tell you about the latest Buffy and Marty drama, if you're interested, and you could cross off _confessing to the person I like_ from my list for me.”

 

 

In the end, nothing really changes. They still sit together at lunch, Cyrus still attends every basketball game, and T.J. still hangs out with him outside school. The only things new are Buffy's constant complaining about them being frustratingly cute, Andi's completely serious shovel talks for T.J., and Jonah not being _completely_ clueless about them dating. Granted, they can't do all the _couple things_ at most places—mainly because they don't want people to know just yet, for now—but Cyrus wouldn't want it to be any different.

 

Looking fondly at T.J., swinging high, laughing carefreely, he knows he wouldn't want it to be any different, either.

 

If he has to let _one_ costume day go wrong for that, he'll gladly let it happen.

 

They've still got Halloween, anyway. The summer-salt outfits can wait.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i appreciate feedback, so leave some if you have any (as well as kudos and comments of validation. i thrive on those)!


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